Gift of the Nightfury
by Catnip-Packet
Summary: Happy Snoggletog!
1. Snoggletog

_So I saw it today, and since it made me cry and was incredibly touching and beautiful (GAH) I am going to do this again. I have to say, it feels great to be back. :D Just bear with me, will you?_

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><p><strong>Gift of the Nightfury<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Snoggletog<strong>

Winter had finally fallen upon Berk. It was early morning; dark, cold, and windy, and a light snow was falling, flakes whipping through the air, carried by the icy breeze. Everybody, dragon and Viking alike, was snuggled up safely and warmly in their homes. All except one.

_This is Berk, boasting the balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen. The one upside is our annual holiday. We call it: Snoggletog._ _Why we chose such a stupid name remains a mystery, but with the war long over and dragons living amongst us, this year's Snoggletog promises to be one to remember._

Hiccup rolled over in bed and slowly opened his eyes. What was that noise? The house suddenly rattled and there was a muffled roar from somewhere above him. Hiccup sighed and covered his head with his blanket, hoping the dragon would get the idea and leave him to a few more hours of sleep like everyone else was getting.

In response to the boy's silence, the house shook again, rattling Hiccup's helmet which was perched on the bedpost and sending clouds of dust drifting from the ceiling. Another roar from above. Hiccup groaned, rolled over, and reluctantly pushed the covers away. "Okay, okay, I'm comin'…"Hiccup slurred, sitting up and fumbling around the bed until he found his helmet.

It was times like these when Hiccup wished that Toothless was still able to fly on his own. He would have his fun and Hiccup would get a few extra hours of sleep. Hiccup supposed he deserved it, seeing that he was the one who put the dragon in this predicament and all, but it was still a little annoying. Hiccup didn't _really_ mind, though. After he actually got up, he was glad that Toothless had woken him up early; that way they were the first ones in the sky before the crowds came. Hiccup remember back when the war was still on, where he was the only one to fly a dragon. Hiccup had had so much space, so much freedom. Now that everyone else was following his lead, the skies were experiencing quite a bit of traffic.

Hiccup stepped outside and involuntarily shivered a bit as the cold air hit him. Yawning, he walked around the house and was greeted with a low rumbling from Toothless, who was perched on top of the roof. "Well good morning, Mr. Bossy," Hiccup called up to him. Toothless made a sort of chittering noise.

Hiccup walked forward, forgetting about the large patch of ice that had formed beside the house a few days ago. "You always have to wake me up so early to go—"

At that moment, his prosthetic leg landed on the ice patch and Hiccup felt the ground jerk out from under him. "—flyiiiIIINNGG!" Hiccup yelped as he swung his arms around in the air as if that would break his fall. Just before he hit the ground, Toothless appeared in front of him like magic, and Hiccup fell against the dragon's neck, his legs skidding against the icy ground. Toothless lifted him off the ground and set him down in front of the ice patch, on solid, snowy ground. Hiccup let go of the dragon and kicked at the ground in frustration. "Stupid leg," he muttered under his breath.

Most people figured Hiccup didn't notice it anymore, but he still did. He noticed it from the minute he woke up to the moment he fell asleep. Walking was harder, especially in winter. There was an emptiness he felt that he couldn't really explain, that nobody would ever understand unless they too lost a limb. Hiccup knew Gobber understood. The veteran had promised him that one day Hiccup wouldn't notice it anymore. Hiccup hoped he was right.

Toothless whined softly, looking concerned. "Oh, thanks buddy, I'm okay," Hiccup assured him, steadying himself and smiling. "Yeah, we can go flying now." Hiccup stepped forward and extended a hand to scratch under Toothless's neck in the spot he liked. Just as Hiccup came close to his face, the dragon's mouth opened and he rumbled happily, unintentionally treating Hiccup to a sniff of what he had had for breakfast. Hiccup quickly pulled back and frantically began to fan dragon breath away from his face. "Ew! What? Ew! Toothless!"

* * *

><p>Within minutes, they were airborne, flying around one of their favourite spots on Berk. For the past few days they had been practicing some aerial tricks, and today Hiccup was hoping to perfect one of them. "Come on, let's see what you got today!" Hiccup called to Toothless, and they angled downward in a steep dive through the clouds. Hiccup let out a whoop as they sped toward the sea and yelled, "Yeah!" as Toothless sharply angled up and sped across the water about ten feet from the surface.<p>

Ahead of him, Hiccup saw a familiar rock formation they were using for one of their tricks, and he reached out to pat Toothless's neck. "Okay, you ready?" Hiccup asked, feeling his heart speed up with anticipation. Hiccup carefully unhooked his leg from the stirrup and slowly lifted himself into an uneasy surfing position on Toothless's back. "Easy…" Hiccup murmured, grinning as the rock formation loomed closer and closer.

Hiccup took a deep breath and leaped into the air, soared over the rock, and landed safely on Toothless, who had flown underneath. Hiccup had a moment of panic as he felt himself slip, but he quickly hooked his prosthetic into the stirrup and he knew he had done it. "Yes!" he cried happily as Toothless flew out over the open sea. "Finally!" Hiccup had no idea why no other Vikings had wanted to try aerial stunts. Flying was one of the best feelings in the world.

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><p>Meanwhile, back on Berk, everybody had woken up and was busy happily decorating the village for Snoggletog. Dragons with Vikings atop them flew left and right, carrying everything from shields to pine wreathes. Gobber was standing in front of a house that was being decorated with wreathes, directing a Viking woman on a Gronkle.<p>

"Yes, yes…no, no, no, that one, a wee bit higher!" Gobber yelled up to her as she and the Gronkle hovered over the face of the building with a wreath.

"Here?" the woman yelled back, waving her arm at a spot at the top of the house.

"There!" Gobber confirmed, pleased. "Ah, that's the spot!"

Gobber felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and he turned to see Stoick, who was looking quite jolly. Everyone seemed to be having a great time decorating. The two Vikings observed a young child dressed in a makeshift Gronkle costume run up to a full-grown Gronkle and roar at it. The Gronkle responded with a louder roar that blew the child back a few inches, but the child merely giggled and ran away, the Gronkle following behind. From atop a ladder, Fishlegs proudly looked down at the dragon and said, "Attaboy, Meatlug!"

Astrid and her own dragon, Stormfly, were standing next to a pile of shields at the base of the huge wooden tree in the center of the village. Astrid picked up a shield in each hand and grinned at her dragon. "Are you ready, girl?"

Stormfly growled and shook herself, raising her spike-equipped tail.

With a grunt, Astrid heaved the shields into the air. Stormfly flicked her tail and sent several spikes flying. One by one, they hit the shields in mid air and skewered them to the tree.

Stoick and Gobber strolled through the village, chatting happily. "Odin's beard, Gobber," Stoick said, shaking his head in amusement. "Vikings spending the Winter holiday with dragons! What would our fathers say?"

"They'd think we'd lost our minds," Gobber responded cheerfully. Stoick let out a hearty laugh at his words and stopped in front of the large crowd of decorating Vikings. "Well done!" he yelled to everyone. "Well done, all of you!" The crowd turned to their chief and smiled, awaiting his next words.

"I never thought I'd live to see this day," Stoick began. The Vikings with their dragons close by reached out to give them an appreciative pat. "Peace on the island of Berk. This shall surely be the greatest holiday we've ever seen!" At his words, the entire crowd let out a cheer and a round of applause.

As Gobber laughed and began to speak, suddenly there was a low rumble from the sky. Stoick stopped smiling and looked up. "What the—"

One by one, all the dragons looks skyward, sniffing the air curiously, their heads twitching from side to side. Stormfly lifted her head from Astrid's arms and hissed at the sky.

The entire sky was filled with the shapes of dragons, all flying in a giant cloud toward Odin-knows-where. "What in Thor's name…?" Gobber said in confusion, looking around at all the different species in the sky.

A large Monstrous Nightmare climbed to the top of one of the bigger houses and let out a loud roar before alighting and taking off into the sky. "Come back!" cried Snotlout, who was left dangling from the roof. "What are you doing?"

As the rest of the grounded dragons laid eyes on their flying relatives, they took to the sky and quickly flew off to join them, ignoring their human friends' cries. "Meatlug!" shrieked Fishlegs, as his Gronkle prepared to take flight.

While half of the Vikings scrambled around, trying to restrain their dragons, the other half simply stood and watched, gasping to one another, "What's going on? What's happening?"

Astrid quickly scanned the crowd for Stormfly, and, not seeing her, whispered to herself, "Where's Hiccup?"

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><p>Toothless and Hiccup were still flying, completely unaware of what was happening. "What do you say, bud?" Hiccup asked. "You wanna go again?" Toothless gave his 'yes' rumble, and Hiccup grinned, more than ready to repeat the stunt. He looked up and was met with the scene of a thousand dragons flying at them. They had appeared out of nowhere; Hiccup hadn't seen them in the thick fog. Hiccup let out a startled yell and he and Toothless swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Monstrous Nightmare.<p>

They managed to fly around without hitting anything, but a stray Nadder who had gotten too close nicked one of the horns on Hiccup's helmet and sent it flying. "Oh no!" gasped Hiccup, his hand flying to his head as he watched the gift from his father plummet out of sight. "My helmet!" Any other helmet would be expendable, but this one...this was a gift from Hiccup's father for finally becoming a Viking, not to mention half of his late mother's breastplate.

Toothless heard Hiccup cry out, glanced down at the helmet, and with a grunt, immediately plunged downwards after it. Hiccup yelped. "Nonononononononono!" The dragon didn't seem to hear him and kept diving. "Whoa whoa whoa, wait, Toothless!" Hiccup cried. Toothless cocked his head to the side and glanced back at his friend, waiting for a command.

"Stop," Hiccup said loudly, and Toothless extended his wings and slowed to a halt. "We'll get it later, bud," Hiccup assured his dragon, who was frantically watching the helmet fall faster towards the sea. "We need to get back and find out what's going on." Toothless reluctantly turned around in the air and with a roar, took off toward the island. They could get it later. If they could find it again...

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><p>"What's the matter?" wailed a Viking, running after a Nightmare who had just taken flight. "Where are you going?"<p>

Astrid, in panic, spotted her dragon and extended her hands towards her. "Nononono, don't leave, Stormfly, don't go—!" But it was too late; the Nadder had taken off already, without even a backwards glance. "Please?" Astrid finished in a small voice.

Hiccup and Toothless reached the island at that moment, and Hiccup leaped off the dragon's back the instant his feet touched land. "Astrid!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried, running to her friend. "What's going on? Where are they going?"

Hiccup turned and gazed out at the sky, where the dragons were flying off into the distance. Behind him, the crowd of Vikings had caught up to them, and they were yelling out questions to him faster than he could speak.

"Why did they leave?" one Viking wanted to know.

"What's happening?" demanded Phlegma the Fierce, her normally confidant visage flooded with confusion.

"What if they never come back?" panicked Hoerk the Haggard.

Hiccup awkwardly cowered in the middle of it all, raising his arms to shield himself from their questions. "Stop! Wait!"

"Calm down!" boomed the voice of Stoick the Vast over the noise of the crowd, and the chief soon appeared, pushing several other Vikings away from his son. "Give him a chance to speak!" He stopped in front of Hiccup and held out his hands pleadingly. "Hiccup, where are all the dragons going?"

Hiccup shook his head in confusion. "Dad…I don't know."

Stoick let out a sad sigh, and the crowd of Vikings seemed to deflate a little. A roar from behind made Hiccup turn around. Stormfly was hovering over Toothless, who was rearing up on his hind legs and roaring to her. Hiccup couldn't understand dragon speak, but it looked like Stormfly was trying to get Toothless to follow her. Hiccup knew why Toothless was resisting. He couldn't fly off if he wanted too.

Stormfly eventually backed off and flew away, and Toothless settled back on four legs, looking wistfully out at the clouds of dragons flying away from Berk. Hiccup looked down at his dragon, wishing he understood what was going on, wishing he knew how to help his friend, and, though feeling extremely selfish for doing so, thanking the gods that Toothless wasn't leaving him yet. The crowd of Vikings watched helplessly as their dragons flew away.

The holiday was off to a bad start.


	2. Must be Nice

_WOO, I FINALLY BOUGHT IT TODAY! And the best part is that since I used my own money it's MINE! So when one of my siblings gets all defensive about it and says, "It's not your movie, it's the family's!" I can reply with, "Actually, I bought it, so it IS mine!" (As you can tell, I care a lot about getting even)_

_Thank you for all your lovely reviews and alerts and everything! I'm so happy to be spreading the joy of HTTYD. I apologize that this chapter is kinda short, but it seemed like a good place to end it before a new beat. I'll try to get the second chapter up tonight so you lucky people get two chapters in one day! :D_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Must be Nice<strong>

Later that evening, the whole village was gathered at Meade Hall for a Thing. Confused Vikings milled around, talking, while they waited for Stoick to get the Thing started.

"Where'd they go?" one Viking was still asking.

"Snoggletog is ruined!" moaned another.

"It's not ruined!" Stoick boomed, standing up on the stone basin that surrounded the bonfire at the centre of Mead Hall. "We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations! And there's no reason we can't do it again."

There were a few reluctant agreements from the crowd. At the back of the hall where Hiccup and the rest of the teens were, though, nobody looked very pleased.

"Now, we don't know where they've gone off to," Stoick continued, "but we have to have faith that they'll be back again soon." He looked around and said, almost pleadingly, "Am I right?"

More agreements came from the crowd, but the loudest one came from Gobber. "You're right!" yelled Gobber loudly, waving a couple of lanterns in the air. "We _are_ Vikings! We are _tough_!"

The other Vikings nearby him took in the jingle bells wrapped around his prosthetic arm and the holly twined around the horns on his helmet and started sniggering. "Well," said Gobber, lowering his arm sheepishly, "most of the time."

With Gobber's festive appearance, the mood in the hall began to improve for the adults, but the teens were still slouching gloomily against the wall. When Gobber suggested, "Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!" Snotlout pushed himself off the wall, nudged Tuffnut to tell him he was leaving, and stalked out, followed by the rest of the teens.

"That was depressing," Ruffnut grumbled as she and the rest of the group trudged through the silent village.

"I know!" Astrid replied unhappily. "I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly."

The depressing silence was broken suddenly as Fishlegs began whistling in a very carefree manner. Tuffnut looked at him and frowned. "What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?"

Fishlegs stopped whistling. "Me?" he said, his eyes growing wide. "Uh…yeah!" He cleared his throat and awkwardly covered his face with his hands, letting out a sob. "I miss him so much!" he choked out in a slightly high-pitched voice. He peeked out from his arms to see that Tuffnut and the others were looking at him suspiciously. "Well, g'night!" Fishlegs chirped, hurriedly shuffling off.

For a few seconds the teens just stood there, looking after Fishlegs's retreating form. Then Astrid suddenly gasped and jumped in front of the group. "I've got an idea! Let's come up with a bunch of _new_ holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!" She grinned eagerly, waiting for their reactions.

Snotlout and the twins sighed and slouched a few inches lower. Hiccup, however, thought a moment and smiled. "Actually, Astrid might be on to something."

Tuffnut frowned. "Easy for you to say," he scoffed, gesturing to something behind him. "Your dragon can't go anywhere without you."

Hiccup and the others turned and saw Toothless perched on a cliff in the distance, looking longingly up at the sky. The dragon awkwardly shuffled around at the edge of the cliff like he wanted to fly off to join the others, but didn't try to take flight. It made Hiccup's heart ache just watching him.

"Must be nice," Ruffnut grumbled, turning around and stalking off, followed closely behind by the others.

Hiccup was left alone, staring at the distant figure of his dragon. He wished there was something he could do about his problem. He wished he could help Toothless fly on his own…

…and suddenly, Hiccup got an idea.


	3. Missing Piece

_Coming up with a chapter title that didn't contain a spoiler wasn't easy. I really didn't want to call it 'Yaknog', since the more serious part is at the end._

_I must say, this chapter made my heart ache a bit...you have been warned..._

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Missing Piece<strong>

The next morning, the village had settled into a deep blue funk. A few Vikings were doing some more decorating, but they were nowhere near close to the mood they had been in the previous day. A group of children had built a snow sculpture of the family Gronkle, and were leaning against it sadly. The sad silence, however, was broken with Astrid's shrill voice ringing through the village.

"Yaknog!" Astrid yelled, walking through the village holding a shield with a pitcher and two mugs. "Get your yaknog! Come on, get a frothy, delicious cup of cheer!" Spotting her friends, she happily dashed over and presented the drink happily. "Hey, you guys, try this tasty new beverage I made for the holiday."

Tuffnut took a sniff and wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, what's that smell? Is that _you_?" he demanded of Ruffnut, pushing her over.

"It's yaknog!" Astrid supplied cheerily, picking up the pitcher and making a big show of pouring a generous amount into one of the mugs. The 'drink' glopped out into the mug with a sickening noise.

Tuffnut watched the lumpy mixture pool in the mug and gagged. "Ugh, if I drink that I'm gonna yaknog all over the place."

"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" Astrid suggested pleasantly.

Ruffnut recovered from her brother's shove and cautiously approached the offending drink, sticking her tongue out at the smell.

Astrid's eyes narrowed dangerously, but before anything bad could happen, Snotlout swaggered over confidently and said smoothly, "Astrid, it sounds delightful. I'd love a mug." He picked up one of the mugs and brought it to his lips, taking a sip. Astrid shot a smug look at the twins, conveniently missing the look of panic on Snotlout's face as the taste made itself known in his mouth. Astrid looked back to see his reaction just as he swallowed. "Uh…you can really taste the yak," Snotlout supplied weakly, gingerly setting the cup back down on the shield and backing away.

Just then, Fishlegs arrived. His face lit up at the sight of the drink, and he nearly knocked Tuffnut over in his haste to reach it. "Oh, _yum_! What _is_ that?"

Astrid's face lit up at his enthusiasm. "Ooh! You wanna try some? It's my new traditional drink!" She didn't notice Snotlout behind her, frantically throwing signals at Fishlegs.

Fishlegs took the hint. "Oh," he stammered, backing away and looking a little disappointed, "you know, um, I have suddenly, and, uh, inexplicably changed my mind."

"Well!" Astrid said huffily, tossing her head to swing her bangs out of her eyes, "you don't know what you're missing." She turned and began to walk away in the direction of the forge. "I bet Hiccup will love this."

Tuffnut shook his head in half amusement, half disgust as she walked away. Beside him, Snotlout was clutching his stomach and bending over slightly, his face showing obvious signs of nausea. Ruffnut leaned in to Snotlout and squinted. "Are you _crying_?"

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><p>Astrid had reached the Snoggletog-decorated forge. Looking around and not seeing anyone, she called out, "Hiccup?"<p>

"Yeah, I'm over here, Astrid, comin'," came the call from the back of the forge. Astrid came closer and saw Hiccup standing over something on the workbench, holding a pair of pliers in one hand.

"Here!" Astrid said cheerfully, holding out the platter of yaknog. "Happy holidays from me to you."

Hiccup smiled. "Thank you, m'lady." He accepted a mug and without even looking at its contents raised it to his mouth to take a sip. Before he could taste it, Astrid looked at the object in front of him and asked, "What are you up to?"

Placing the mug on the table, Hiccup sighed. "Okay, uh, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but…I just couldn't stop thinking about what Tuffnut said last night. Toothless can't come and go like the other dragons, and that's…just…not…fair."

Astrid set her platter of yaknog on the table to get a better look. Hiccup had made another tail fin, but this time it had a series of cogs and metal parts affixed to the end. He held it steady with one hand and cranked down a lever on it with the other. "I was up all night and I think I've found a way to fix that." With that happy proclamation, he picked up the mug of yaknog and took a mouthful.

Astrid was so amazed she didn't seem to hear the panicked gagging noises coming from her friend. "No way! You built him a new tail? So he's gonna be able to fly without you!" Hiccup, his eyes wide and his cheeks bulging with yaknog, nodded. "Mhmm!"

"Wow!" Astrid said softly. "What a great gift!" Hiccup silently put the mug down on the table and stood there awkwardly, holding the yaknog in his mouth.

Astrid stared at the tail for a few seconds and then said quietly, "What if he never comes back?"

Hiccup paused and lowered his head sadly. "Mmm."

Astrid laughed. "What am I saying? Of course he will."

Hiccup nodded. "Mhmmm."

Astrid picked up the tray of yaknog and sauntered off happily. "Well, I'm gonna go spread some more holiday cheer! You're amazing!" she sang, running toward a group of unsuspecting Vikings.

Hiccup watched her go, then quickly opened his mouth and spit all the yaknog out onto the floor, spitting several times afterward to get rid of the taste. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned back to the new tail.

"_What if he never comes back?"_

Astrid's words rang in Hiccup's head. It was a possibility, of course. Hiccup knew—or at least liked to think—that he and the dragon were best friends. But when Toothless regained the power of flight without having to rely on him for help, what would be holding him back? He was a Night Fury. An untouchable, dangerous, legendary dragon. If the other full-grown Vikings couldn't keep even their Terrible Terrors from getting away, how would Hiccup be able to hold him back? Hiccup took a deep breath and exhaled. What was he thinking? Nothing was going to go wrong. He picked up the tail and headed back to his house to present it to Toothless.

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><p>Toothless was on top of the roof again, stomping and roaring, sending shingles dropping onto the snow below. He looked up when Hiccup called his name. "Toothless!"<p>

Hiccup grinned. "Come on down, bud. I got something for ya."

Toothless zoomed down and eagerly looked at the new tail, sniffing it experimentally. Hiccup smiled. "What do you think of that? Yeah!"

Hiccup headed toward Toothless's tail, but the dragon started walking behind him, nosing him and rumbling curiously. "Will you just settle down!" laughed Hiccup, speeding up. "Toothless! Come on, bud, lemme get this on ya!" The Night Fury finally stopped walking and held still as Hiccup knelt down by the tail and strapped it in. Toothless looked back and growled curiously.

Hiccup looked up from his work and smiled wistfully. "Yeah, you are…going to love this." He clicked the last cog into place and patted the tail. "Okay." He stood up and Toothless swished it around experimentally. It took two seconds for the dragon to figure out he didn't like it, and he began romping in circles, shaking it, trying to get it off. Hiccup put up his hands to try and stop him. "Nonono, Toothless, stop, please wait! Toothless, please—!" Toothless landed on all fours and whipped his tail toward the ground, and at that moment, the new fin snapped out to its full size.

Toothless froze, his ears perking up and his eyes widening in surprised. Hiccup held still as Toothless waved it around to test it out. "Ah, there you go," he said happily, glad that Toothless seemed to like it. The dragon angled his tail fin and automatically the fake fin angled to fold the same way. Toothless looked both surprised and pleased. "See? Got it?" Hiccup said, amused.

Toothless turned and looked at Hiccup, his pupils suddenly turning to slits. Hiccup gave him a big smile, waiting for a reaction. Toothless kept staring at him, breathing in and out a few times through his nose, pawing the ground with one leg. Hiccup sighed and extended a hand. "Toothless—"

But instead of pouncing on him with joy or leaping into the air to do some experimental flight tricks or simply nuzzling his hand, Toothless _backed away_, like he had never seen Hiccup before in his life, and then

turned

and

with a spray of snow

just

flew

away.

Hiccup held up his arms to shield himself from the spray of snow the dragon's wings had flung at him and looked despairingly after his friend as he rose into the sky. Already the dragon was a mere shape in the distance, flying away as fast as his wings could carry him, a loud roar echoing over the island.

Hiccup could barely believe what had just happened. Without even thanking him, without even nuzzling him…

_What if he never comes back?_

_What am I saying? Of course he will._

But that look he had given him…

…like he was a total stranger…

Hiccup stared at the empty sky and then stared at the ground, feeling hot tears pricking at his eyes.

_What if he never comes back?_

_What if he never does…?_


	4. Fishlegs's Secret

_Sorry for taking a few days to get this up. I've had stuff on my mind. However, it's all gone now. So here it is!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Fishlegs's Secret<strong>

The room was dark. All was quiet. Hiccup lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, staring forlornly at the ceiling. There was no impatient roaring and thumping coming from outside like normal. Even though it got on his nerves after a while, Hiccup would have gladly welcomed it this morning. But this time there was no dragon waiting to go flying.

It had been three days since Toothless flew away from Hiccup, and he had seen no sign of him since. With every passing day he was beginning to sink lower and lower into his depression. The boy let out a sigh and turned over in his slightly uncomfortable bed (which was completely made of wood except for the pillow and blanket). _He could almost hear the thumping on the roof…_

A few puffs of dust were dislodged from the ceiling.

Hiccup sat up, his eyes wide. He _could_ hear a thumping on the roof. And that only meant one thing. "Toothless!" Hiccup gasped, throwing the covers off him and scrambling out of bed.

The boy dashed around to the side of the house without looking where he was putting his feet. "I knew you'd come back—whooaaaaAAAHH!"

Once again he had been too careless around the ice patch, but this time instead of getting a quick rescue from Toothless, Hiccup fell heavily on his back. He lay there for a few seconds with the wind knocked out of him, too stunned to move.

There was a hammering from the roof and the jovial face of Stoick the Vast peered down at him. His face split into a wide grin. "'Morning, son!"

Hiccup stared up at his dad in disappointment before slowly getting up. "Oh, hey, Dad…"

"Glad you're up," Stoick said as Hiccup righted himself. "I was looking for your helmet."

Hiccup cringed. This day was getting worse and worse. "My…my helmet?" he finally got out, grinning nervously as his father climbed down the ladder.

Stoick grinned. "Odin needs a place to put your goodies!"

"Yeah, yeah, right, I'll…get on that," Hiccup said, shrugging. It was one of the Snoggletog traditions. Kids would leave their helmet out when they went to bed, and during the night, Odin would sneak in and leave them treats. Hiccup had completely forgotten. With Toothless still gone, his missing helmet was the absolute last thing on his mind. "…great…" He turned to leave.

Stoick set foot on the ground, stared at Hiccup's retreating form for a second, and sighed. "Hold on."

Hiccup stopped walking and turned around. Stoick paused right in front of him. "Hold on. Alright, come on. What's on your mind? Out with it."

Hiccup sighed, not knowing whether to be grateful for the attention or annoyed that Stoick actually had to ask. "It's been three days, Dad, I…I just thought Toothless would be back by now."

"Oh, I'm sure he's with the other dragons," said Stoick, sounding pretty sure of himself.

"Yeah? I wish I could be that sure."

Stoick sighed and for a moment he just looked like a tired old man. "Listen. I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do when they can't be here for the holiday?" He put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "We celebrate them. And I imagine that's exactly what Toothless would want you to do." He waited for Hiccup to take this in. "Right?"

Hiccup wasn't even sure anymore that Toothless would want him to do anything. He'd given the dragon freedom, and the dragon had gladly taken it without looking back. Who knew if he even remembered him? In the long run, he was just another human. A talking fishbone. But there was no sense arguing about it. "You're right," Hiccup said sadly.

"Good!" said Stoick cheerfully, giving him a hearty slap that nearly sent him into the ground. "Now go get that helmet. We've had enough disappointment around here." And he stomped back to the ladder to continue his job on the roof.

Hiccup stopped rubbing his shoulder and sighed. His helmet was probably at the bottom of the sea right now. And with Toothless—not to mention all the other dragons—gone, who was going to help him get it back?

* * *

><p>Hiccup supposed he should keep busy. He had no dragon, he couldn't look for his helmet, and there was still work to be done around the village. He asked around to see if anyone had any chores for him and ended up delivering an old set of oars to the forge. Odin knew why Gobber needed them.<p>

As he rounded the corner, he accidentally bumped into someone. Backing up to apologize, Hiccup saw that it was Fishlegs, who was carrying an enormous basket of fresh fish. When Fishlegs saw Hiccup, his eyes grew wide and took on a nervous look.

Hiccup stared at the basket in amusement. "Oh, Fishlegs, you hungry? There's enough fish to feed a dragon!"

Fishlegs nervously glanced from side to side before letting out a loud, fake-sounding laugh. "Oh! A dragon! Heh heh, that's…eh…" And he quickly dashed off the way he had come.

Hiccup stared after him suspiciously. He thought back to a few days ago, when Fishlegs had acted completely unconcerned that Meatlug had disappeared. And now enough fish to feed a dragon…there was definitely something fishy going on here. Hiccup watched his friend kick open the door to one of the dragon stables and awkwardly back inside with the basket of fish. Once Fishlegs was inside, Hiccup quickly hid behind the stable.

Fishlegs emerged a few seconds later. He peered around, then quickly exited and shut the door behind him, a giddy expression on his face. As he ran past Hiccup's hiding place, Hiccup carefully stepped out and walked over to the stable. He set the oars up against the building, checked to make sure Fishlegs wasn't looking, and opened the doors.

It was almost like being hit by a bus. Meatlug exploded out of the stable so fast that the chain securing it to a wooden beam broke and sent the dragon, with Hiccup plastered to its face, flying away from Berk as fast as it possibly could.

With effort, Hiccup pushed himself up and got a good look at the dragon. "Meatlug?"

The Gronkle's eyes snapped onto Hiccup but the dragon made no move to stop or throw him off.

As Meatlug clumsily dipped downward in the air, Hiccup caught a glimpse of Astrid staring up at them, open-mouthed. "Hiccup?" He heard her yell up at him. "Where are you going?"

"I have no idea!" Hiccup screamed back as Meatlug zoomed away, narrowly missing one of the guard posts stationed around Berk.

Astrid stood there shaking her head in utter confusion as Hiccup and Meatlug sped away. "Meatlug!" she heard Fishlegs cry behind her, and she turned around to see the poor Viking standing at the stable, watching Hiccup and his dragon disappear into the distance. "What about presents? Hey…!"


	5. Dragon Eggs

_This chapter was fun to write. :D_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Dragon Eggs<strong>

It hardly took time at all to gather the rest of the Vikings teens in the stable. "I can't _believe_ him!" Fishlegs was still saying.

"_You_ can't believe _him_?" Astrid exclaimed furiously, thrusting her hand at the thick chain on the ground. "You kidnapped your dragon!"

"Well that makes it sound so mean," Fishlegs said to Astrid, sounding hurt.

Bored with the argument already, Ruffnut nudged her twin and they both walked over to the pile of hay at the very back at the stable. Kneeling down and starting to rummage through it, their eyes grew wide. "Hey guys…?" Tuffnut called, not tearing his eyes away from what was hiding under the hay.

"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" Astrid retorted.

"I'm 72% sure he wanted to stay!" Fishlegs protested.

"_Guys_!" Tuffnut yelled irritably.

Fishlegs glanced away from Astrid and looked surprised. "Whoa! Meatlug barfed up a pile of rocks!" It indeed looked like several blue, bumpy rocks, each about the side of a Bashyball, hidden in the hay.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot. Those aren't rocks, your dragon laid eggs!"

"Hey, wait!" Astrid exclaimed, holding up one of the eggs. "I bet that's why the dragons left! To lay their eggs!"

Fishlegs looked confused. "But…boy dragons don't lay eggs."

"Yeah…your 'boy' dragon is a 'girl' dragon," Ruffnut said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Okay! That actually explains a few things."

Before anyone could question him on that, Astrid leaped up like a light bulb had suddenly gone off over her head. "Hey! Everyone's missing their dragons, right?"

Snotlout groaned. "Ohh, here it comes…"

Grabbing a stray ribbon from a left over decorating box, Astrid turned her back to her friends for a few seconds. "I've got an idea! It'll be another new Snoggletog tradition!" She turned around and proudly displayed the Gronkle egg, which was now wrapped in red ribbon, complete with a bow.

No matter how much the other teens argued against it, Astrid could not be swayed. Eventually, she managed to convince them all that it was foolproof. When the Gronkle returned she would have no trouble finding her babies, as they would be the only dragons left on Berk. The Vikings would be happy to have dragons on the island again. Nothing could go wrong.

About five minutes later, the five teens snuck out of the stable, each holding two wrapped Gronkle eggs in their hands. "Ooooh, this is gonna be so good…!" Astrid squealed. With that, they all set off in different directions, sneaking into empty houses and quietly depositing the eggs in the Vikings' helmets. Unlike the yaknog, it seemed like this was actually going to work.

* * *

><p>While the teens had been hard at work hiding eggs all over Berk, Hiccup was still being carried through the mist on Meatlug. It was very similar to when Toothless had carried him and Astrid to the dragon's nest; he couldn't see a thing, and now and then giant rock formations would jump out at them from the mist. Once they narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a particularly thick-looking rock. "Meatlug, where are you taking me?" Hiccup asked for the fifth time. The dragon didn't even respond with a grunt.<p>

Another shape loomed out of the mist, but this time it was an old Viking ship that had crashed during an expedition to find the nest. Hiccup yelled and yanked on Meatlug's head fins, steering the dragon away in the nick of time. Hiccup allowed his heart rate to slow down as they flew toward the open sky and then levelled out above the mist, where there was just a great expanse of clouds and nothing waiting to jump out and scare them.

Hiccup account of how long they flew. It seemed like hours. He couldn't be sure if it was just a few minutes or if it really was an hour or so. Eventually, the clouds gave way and an island came into view.

It wasn't a particularly beautiful island. It was very rocky, with a giant pool in the very centre that took up about a third of the island. Hiccup couldn't see any plants whatsoever. If he had looked closer perhaps he would have seen some, but he wasn't looking for plants because he had already found something better.

Meatlug angled lower and skidded to a halt on the rocky ground. Hiccup quickly dismounted, and the Gronkle plodded away. The boy walked over to the edge of the ledge they had landed on and let out a small gasp.

Dragons. And not just any dragons. Babies. Among all the dragons that had fled Berk three days ago, there were literally hundreds of them. Most of the adult dragons were lazing around in sunbeams while the little ones flew and jumped around them, squawking and chittering excitedly.

Hiccup was amazed. "You guys come here to have babies," he whispered to himself. He watched a Nadder walk up to her brood and regurgitate something while the baby Nadders scrambled to eat the slimy stuff. "Whoa…"

Just below the ledge, something caught his eye. A Gronkle was rolling several eggs into holes filled with water. Hiccup carefully slid down the ledge to see, nearly bumping into a couple of baby dragons playing a game.

Hiccup knelt by the water hole and watched in fascination as a baby Gronkle hauled itself out of the water and immediately took to the air, flying about six feet before tumbling head over feet a few times and stopped in front of its mother. More baby Gronkles followed afterward. Most were green like their mother, but there were also a couple of brown ones, and even a pink one. They looked simply adorable.

Hiccup finally glanced away and noticed one last egg sitting at the edge of the water hole. He stood up and walked toward it, calling over his shoulder to the mother. "Hey look over here, you missed one—"

The egg suddenly began to shake violently, and without warning, it exploded in an enormous burst of flames, sending Hiccup sprawling backwards. The baby Gronkle thudded on the ground in a ball as its mother and siblings cautiously approached it. The baby uncurled itself, stretched with a big yawn, and waddled off to find something to do.

Hiccup was left lying flat on his back on the ground. He sat up and stared with wide eyes at the broken shell, which was at least an inch thick. "_Man_, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Berk!"


	6. Return Migration

_Last chapter tonight, I promise._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Return Migration<strong>

The egg-planting took less time that Astrid had bargained for. She quietly placed the last Gronkle egg in somebody's boot and tiptoed out to meet the others, not noticing that it was beginning to smoke.

Astrid shut the door behind her and skipped toward her friends. "Wasn't this a _great_ idea?" she grinned happily. Everybody, even Snotlout, grinned and nodded.

Fishlegs could barely contain his excitement. "Uh-huh! Everyone is going to be _so_ surprised!"

At that very moment, the house Astrid had just come out of suddenly lost a door as the egg exploded and destroyed most of the front of the house. A piece of debris pelted toward Fishlegs and hit him in the head, sending the boy sprawling. "Surprise!" Snotlout grinned.

The baby Gronkle fell from the sky and landed on Fishlegs's stomach. It yawned widely and blinked sleepily up at the teens.

Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Snotlout all leaned forward and took in the cuteness of a baby Gronkle for the first time, uncharacteristic soft smiles gracing their features. "Aww…"

Astrid, however, wore a look of absolute horror. "The eggs…_explode_?"

There was a short silence after her words before another house exploded, taking out part of its roof. Another house followed soon after. Vikings began to run out into the open, screaming.

"_The eggs explode_!" Astrid shrieked, her hands flying to her face.

It was like a chain reaction had started. One by one, eggs were exploding, blowing walls, doors, and roof shingles off various houses. Vikings were running to and fro, not knowing what was happening, screaming and trying to help each other. Astrid was frantically running around and crying, "Sorry!" to anyone who would listen. Baby Gronkles and random debris flew through the air. Two Gronkles crashed into each other and promptly settled down to watch the show.

"Awesome!" Ruffnut gasped, her eyes popping with excitement.

"Wow!" breathed Tuffnut, his eyes following a flaming piece of wood as it shot through the air and crashed into someone's house.

Fishlegs was holding a baby Gronkle and petting it softly, silently watching the chaos unfold in front of them.

Snotlout, his arms crossed, turned to Astrid and said with a grin, "This is your best idea yet!"

Poor Astrid just stood there in horror, unable to do anything to stop it.

The Vikings slowly began to stop running as they noticed the wooden tree in the centre of the village. Three large pieces of flaming debris had crashed into it, and now the tree was nothing but a giant flare.

As the explosions gradually stopped and a stunned silence fell over the village, Stoick the Vast stalked up to the tree and turned to face the crowd, his eyes livid. "What in Thor's name is going on?"

Astrid blinked wide-eyed at the angry chief and whispered, "The eggs explode."

Behind her, one more house exploded before everything was silent again.

Astrid offered a weak smile, feeling sick to her stomach. What had she done?

* * *

><p>"Toothless!" Hiccup was calling as he roamed the dragon's nesting island. "Toothless?" Stoick had been sure Toothless would be here, but Hiccup couldn't see a familiar flash of black anywhere. Heck, he didn't even see another Night Fury. Was Toothless really the only one? Did that mean that he wasn't here? But if he wasn't here for the same reason as the other dragons, where was he? Maybe he really was just flying away. Hiccup tried not to think about that as he continued to search the island. "Oh, Toothless, where are you?" he whispered, beginning to lose hope.<p>

As he came to the top of another ledge, he found himself looking down at a Monstrous Nightmare. The giant red dragon glanced up and then suddenly lifted its head in recognition. The Nadder beside him also looked up and almost seemed to smile at Hiccup. Hiccup felt a smile jump onto his face. Here were some familiar faces.

"Hookfang!" he cried happily, leaping off the ledge and running forward. Snotlout's dragon dipped his head down and allowed Hiccup to rub his nose. "Stormfly!" Hiccup exclaimed, taking a closer look at the Nadder and leaving Hookfang to see Astrid's beloved dragon. "Oh…you have no idea how happy I am to see you guys!" Stormfly nuzzled him affectionately.

Hiccup looked down and grinned. "And you have…babies? Aw, look at you guys all happy together!" He knelt down to pet them, and the mother got up and moved away to give him some room. There were three of them; one green, one blue like its mother, and one purple. All three of them chattered at Hiccup eagerly, pushing each other out of the way to get a chance to see the boy.

Hiccup laughed as the purple Nadder nuzzled his arm, and he scratched it under the chin. "Who knew you were leaving to celebrate your own sort of holiday?" he mused thoughtfully. He thought about back home. He wondered what everyone was doing back there without him. Snoggletog was the next day, and tonight and for the next few nights there would be parties long into the night. The sun was setting, and Hiccup knew he should be getting back home.

"I should get back to _my_ holiday," he grinned, standing up and looking at Hookfang, who cocked his head to the side. "So what do ya say there, Hookfang? Think you could give me a ride back home?" Hiccup scratched the dragon behind his horns, and he closed his eyes and purred in pleasure. Straightening up, the Nightmare bent down, allowed Hiccup to climb onto his neck, and jumped into the air.

Hiccup waved at the rest of the dragons down below and called, "I'll see you all back on Berk when you're good and ready! Okay, gang?"

Stormfly, however, took this as a sign to follow him, and she leaped into the air with a cry. Several other dragons saw her movements and copied them, and soon Hiccup had the entire island of dragons getting ready to come back home. "Oh, no!" Hiccup yelped, shaking a hand at the dragons to try and dissuade them from following him. "Nonono…I think I just started the return migration," he said to himself, slumping against one of Hookfang's spikes.

On the ground, all the baby dragons were squawking excitedly and wiggling their wings, getting ready to take off. Then, in one wave, they began running to the edge of the island, ready to take flight. Their parents watched on carefully.

"Well, if you insist…" Hiccup said, giving up. He watched, feeling a bit nervous, as the first group of baby dragons reached the edge of the island.

One by one, four baby dragons, the three Nadders and one of Hookfang's children, leaped off into the air, their wings flapping frantically. "Come on…" Hiccup muttered under his breath, willing the dragons to fly.

Slowly but surely, the dragons began to gain height. Chattering in excitement, they began to fly faster. Unfortunately, it was windy around the island, and the baby dragons' weight couldn't hold against the currents. One by one they were blown back onto the island.

Hiccup frowned. "Oh boy, this is never going to work."

The four baby dragons got up again and shook the dust off themselves. The other babies shuffled uncertainly on the ledge, crying up at their parents. The adults hovered above in the air, not sure what to do next.

Hiccup knit his brow and thought for a second before remembering something. "Oh! Hold on," he called to the dragons below. "I've got just the thing." He patted Hookfang's neck and the dragon took off toward the mist, to where an old abandoned Viking ship was waiting.


	7. Best Friends Forever

_This chapter was late because of the following reasons. Number one, I was busy with other stuff. Number two, I got out of the HTTYD mood for a week or two and felt an uncontrollable urge to obsess over something else for a while. Number three, this chapter has two scenes that are nearly impossible to write nicely, and I'm still scared that I didn't do it well enough. But I figure I've made you all wait long enough, and I've done the best I can do._

_Also, someone has pointed out to me that I've been spelling Snoggletog wrong, and I apologize for that mistake! I've gone and fixed it up in the previous chapters._

_So here we go. Last chapter. I gotta say, the ending of this made me cry. Not my writing (because I don't even know if I did the scene justice), but you know. Incredibly touching and...I'm gonna type a spoiler here if I'm not careful. D: But seriously, those guys have the most deep, wonderful friendship I've ever known of. (sniff)_

_This is most likely the last y'all will here of me before the holidays, so have a great whatever-you're-celebrating (Christmas for me!) and hope you have fun! Happy Snoggletog! :D_

_~ Catnip-Packet_

* * *

><p>Berk was a mess.<p>

Shards and splinters of wood, metal, and decorations were everywhere. The baby Gronkles had fallen asleep around some of the food supplies and were twitching in their sleep, occasionally rolling over and letting out a squeaky yawn. The Vikings were patching things up the best they could, but it was obvious that it wasn't the sort of thing that could be finished in just one night. There wasn't a single house that wasn't ruined in _some_ way.

Stoick and Gobber, instead of helping to repair the houses, were walking through them and inspecting the damage. Today hadn't been a very good day for Stoick. Hiccup was gone for most of the day, the dragons hadn't come back, and the village had been all but destroyed. "Gobber, this is a disaster," the chief groaned, gingerly stepping through a blackened wooden doorway, followed closely by said friend.

"Ach, it's not so bad," Gobber said, shrugging and trying to look on the bright side even though the entire house was completely black from the fire.

Stoick looked shocked. "Not that bad?" Right now, the bright side was more of a just-barely-enough-light side. He angrily stomped out of the house and into the open. "The village is destroyed, the dragons have gone and left us…let's face it. This holiday is a complete—what are these people _looking_ at?" he grumbled in frustration, noticing for the first time that everybody had stopped cleaning up and was staring fixedly at something up in the sky. Stoick followed their gaze and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What is that?"

It looked like a big, dark cloud was moving toward them. As it came nearer, the shapes became more defined, and the cloud began to break up into over a hundred silhouettes of flying dragons. Something else was hanging below them, suspended by ropes that were held in the dragons' mouths and talons. It had a sort of dragon-esque shape to it, but as the dragons carried it nearer, it became clear that it was an old Viking ship, probably one of them that had never came back from a quest. Then Stoick got a good look at the Nightmare at the front of the crowd and his face lit up. "It's Hiccup!"

"And our dragons!" Astrid gasped, lowering the hammer she had been using in amazement.

All the Vikings began to cheer and wave their hands to try and attract their dragons. The task of cleaning up was instantly forgotten.

The dragons flew closer and closer to the island, dropping lower and lower until their burden touched ground. The ship crashed about a foot into the ice and skidded to a halt right in front of the crowd of Vikings. The dragons all released their ropes, and the ship tipped to the side and with one large crash, finally lay still. The Vikings watched the ship with anticipation.

Slowly, a baby Nadder emerged, followed by a baby Zippleback. The Vikings began to gasp and squeal with excitement as the rest of the babies began to dismount from their rides, their parents landing beside them. Hookfang dipped his neck down to the ice and Hiccup smoothly jumped off, taking a few steps forward and grinning at the faces on the Vikings. Cries of "Welcome back, laddie!" and "Good job!" were mingled with the happy shouts of the Vikings who were greeting their dragons.

"Yeah!" Snotlout cheered, running up to Hookfang and scratching the dragon behind his horns. Hookfang's eyes lazily drooped half-closed with pleasure.

Up above in the air, Meatlug was skimming over the island, her eyes frantically searching for her own babies who had been left behind. Finally spotting them by the food barrels, she landed, gazed at them all adoringly, and promptly regurgitated a pile of fish for them to eat. As the babies happily scampered towards the food, Fishlegs came flying out of nowhere and tackled his dragon to the ground. "_Meatlug_!"

Stormfly had spotted Astrid, and she and her babies were trotting up to meet her. "Stormfly!" Astrid wailed happily, throwing her arms around her dragon. "You're back! Ohhh…" She looked at the babies and her eyes lit up. "And there are _babies_!" she squealed, bending down to pet them.

Hiccup turned away from watching Astrid reunite with her dragon and was immediately caught up in a breath-quenching hug from his father. "Well done, son!"

"Thanks, Dad," gasped Hiccup, clutching his stomach and taking deep breaths.

In a considerably better mood, Stoick spread his arms and yelled, "Everyone, grab your dragons! To the Great Hall! We finally have something to celebrate!"

It was finally time for Snoggletog to begin.

* * *

><p>Hiccup strolled through the Great Hall amongst dragons, happy Vikings, and tables laden with food. He had a smile on his face, but inside he was less than happy.<p>

He passed a table with Fishlegs, who had a baby Gronkle in each hand and had reverted to baby talk. "This is the best holiday ever! Who's a baby? Who's a cutie baby?" Beside him, Snotlout was petting one of Hookfang's children, occasionally jerking his hand back as the dragon let out a burst of flame from its mouth. Beside the table, a couple was scratching a Gronkle under the chin. Two children were holding mugs of cocoa, a baby Zippleback between them trying to steal a sip. One small girl was dragging around a grumpy-looking Terrible Terror that was almost as big as she was. Everybody's dragons had come back.

But Toothless was still gone.

He hadn't been at the nesting grounds with the other dragons. That only left one other option. He had taken his freedom and was gone forever. _You don't know that for sure,_ said the little voice in the back of Hiccup's head. _Enjoy the celebration. He'll come back. _But then another voice would pipe up, _Forget it. He's gone, long gone, and you're never going to see him again…_

Hiccup felt his eyes grow hot but he managed to keep a few stray tears away. Thankfully, at that moment a distraction arrived in the form of Astrid.

"Hiccup, I know this must be really hard for you," the girl started out nervously. "seeing everyone with their dragons." She took his hand and smiled. "But you really did a wonderful thing. Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed him quickly before pulling him into a tight hug. Hiccup's arms instinctively went around her, and he laid his chin on her shoulder. For a few seconds they just stood like that quietly. Then Hiccup sighed. "Astrid, where did Toothless go?" he said quietly.

Astrid gently shook her head. "I don't know." She sadly looked up, her eyes landing on the door of the Great Hall, and suddenly she knew the answer.

The door to the Great Hall had opened, and Toothless was tentatively sticking his head inside. He stepped in and glanced around the room before spotting Astrid with Hiccup and perking up. He quickly started walking towards them, attracting the attention of quite a few Vikings along the way.

Astrid's mouth fell open and suddenly had an idea. Grinning deviously, she pulled out of the hug and braced her hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "Wow. Man! Wouldn't wanna be you right now. I mean, you brought back _everyone's dragon _except yours."

Hiccup's face went from confused to annoyed. "Yeah, you know, this is not helping at all," he replied crossly.

Astrid grinned and abruptly shoved Hiccup backward, spinning him 180 degrees around so he came face to face with Toothless running to meet him.

Hiccup's eyes widened and his face split into the biggest smile he had ever donned in his entire life. "_TOOTHLESS! _Hey, bud!"

Toothless grinned—as well as a dragon could—and eagerly dashed up to the boy, coming to a halt about three feet away where he stood, looking like he wanted to leap on him and smother him in a hug. He also looked nervous, like he was afraid of what Hiccup would say to him after he had been gone without a reason for the past three days.

_I'm sorry._

Hiccup smiled at his best friend and quickly threw his arms around the dragon's neck, hugging him tightly. Toothless looked surprised for a second but didn't pull away.

The Vikings around them, for once, didn't start clapping and cheering. Instead they just watched and smiled as Hiccup opened his eyes and quickly drew away. "Bad dragon! Very bad dragon!" he scolded, pointing at Toothless and waving his finger around in the air. Toothless followed the finger with his eyes. "You scared me to death!" Hiccup went on. "Don't ever stay away that long again and…_what_ is in your mouth?" He hadn't noticed it at first, but after the initial shock of having Toothless come back, it became very obvious that the dragon was holding something big and bulky between his jaws. Hiccup squinted and tried to peer up into the dragon's mouth, but as he did, Toothless immediately opened his mouth and put whatever it was right on Hiccup's head, quite a lot of dragon spit following after.

Toothless pushed the thing firmly down on Hiccup's head with his tongue and stood back, proudly surveying the boy. Hiccup, his hair completely soaked, gingerly brushed spit off his face. "Yeah, you found my helmet." He went to wipe his eyes and suddenly froze. "Hey! You found my helmet! _That's_ where you've been?" All this time he had thought Toothless had left for good, and the whole time he had just been trying to retrieve Hiccup's helmet, which must have sank to the bottom of the ocean by the time he found it.

Hiccup grinned and rubbed Toothless's nose, and the dragon purred. Hiccup held Toothless's head in both hands, looked him in the eye, and said sincerely, "Buddy, thank you. You…are amazing."

And then came the inevitable cheering and clapping from the crowd. Hiccup hugged Toothless again and the dragon looked both surprised and pleased. Astrid went up to greet Toothless and grinned. "Happy Snoggletog!"

Finally, Hiccup had something to celebrate. His best friend had come back. Could things get any better than this?

* * *

><p>Snoggletog dawned bright and snowy. Hiccup was woken by the house shaking again. No roaring accompanied it, but he instantly knew who it was. Instead of groaning and trying to hide under the covers, he immediately got up, yawned, and jumped out of bed, ready to meet Toothless outside.<p>

At the front door, Hiccup paused to look at the village. It had snowed overnight, and every surface was covered in a thick blanket of whiteness that was about a foot deep. It made the whole village look fresh and new. An impatient roar from behind the house brought Hiccup back to reality. "I'm coming, Toothless!" he called, smiling and hopping down the steps.

"All right bud, come on down," Hiccup said as he rounded the corner. "I was just…" He stopped and stared.

Toothless wasn't on the roof. He was sitting on the ground, staring at Hiccup expectantly. His old saddle and tail fin were spread out in the snow in front of him.

Hiccup had a moment of confusion. "Toothless, what'd you pull this out for?" He shoved the saddle out of the way with his boot. "You don't need this anymore." He walked up to Toothless's side and prepared to mount him. "C'mon, let's get going." But Toothless quickly got up and moved away from him, turning 180 degrees and sitting back down in front of the old riding equipment.

Hiccup shook his head in confusion. What was going on here? "Would you quit fooling around? You have your new tail now," he said, trying to mount Toothless again and failing as Toothless ducked away once more. Hiccup smiled uncertainly. "Toothless!"

Toothless glanced down at the equipment, then slowly hunched down and held up his tail. The new fin slowly fanned out with a soft clicking noise. It was perfect. The measurements weren't off even by a little bit. The material would last for years to come. It wasn't only the gift of a new fin; it was a gift of freedom.

Toothless lifted the tail higher, looked Hiccup in the eye, and without any warning at all, began to whip his tail against the ground, smashing the fin as hard as he could.

Hiccup's eyes widened in shock. "Toothless! Stop! What are you doing?" A dull snap came from the fake fin, and Toothless kept shaking his tail frantically until the fin detached itself and was flung ten feet away into a snowdrift. Hiccup stood there, staring in disbelief. In less than ten seconds, a full night's worth of work had become undone, and Toothless had thrown away the one thing that enabled him to fly freely. Why? Why was he doing this?

Toothless gently took the old saddle in his mouth and tugged it across the snow in front of him. He left go of it, looked up at Hiccup with wide eyes, and patted it with his front paw.

So many things were said with one simple action.

Hiccup just stared, barely daring to believe what Toothless was saying.

And slowly he started to smile.

_Winter in Berk lasts most of the year. It hangs on with both hands and won't let go. And the only real comforts against the cold are those you keep close to your heart._

Hiccup and Toothless levelled out in the air, and Hiccup slowly unbuckled himself from the harness. "Okay, bud, you ready?" Toothless confirmed his answer with a growl. Hiccup unhooked his prosthetic from the stirrup, braced himself, and leaped off Toothless's back into the open sky. They both began to free fall through the icy air, head first, side by side.

Hiccup couldn't stop grinning. He glanced at Toothless. The dragon gave him a wide, upside down, toothless smile. He reached out a paw and playfully gave Hiccup a small push, causing the boy to spin around in the air.

As the island rapidly zoomed up to meet them, Toothless quickly spun around and Hiccup grabbed onto the saddle, strapping himself back in and tilting his foot back to make the fake fin snap out to the side. Toothless spread his wings out, and he pulled up and zoomed over the forest, just brushing the tips of the trees and spraying snow in all directions.

_Turns out that was the best Snoggletog ever. That year, I gave my best friend a pretty great gift._

_He gave me a better one._


End file.
